Parliamentary questions
Monica Lennon
3,484 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
2 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to enabling those ordering the baby box to choose the items to be included in the box.
Answer · Clare Haughey: At its heart, Scotland’s Baby Box strongly signals our determination that every child, regardless of their circumstances, should get the best start in life by ensuring that every family with a newborn has access to essential items needed in the first six mont…
2 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to remove single-use plastics from the baby box.
Answer · Clare Haughey: Scotland’s Baby Box Managing Agent, APS Group (Scotland), has continued to work with suppliers since the start of the programme to reduce the use of single use plastic in the Baby Box where possible. Currently, only items which require individual wrapping for…
2 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many reusable nappies have been claimed each year using the baby box voucher.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The reusable nappy voucher was first included in Scotland’s Baby Box in April 2019. The number of nappies claimed each year was as follows: 2019 – 4912 2020 – 7192 2021 – 3128 (this is up to 02-07-2021)
1 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00712 by Kate Forbes on 22 June 2021, for what reason the Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund is underspent in excess of £24 million, and what urgent action it will take to address the issues facing taxi operators and drivers as a result of th…
Answer · Kate Forbes: The original Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund budget was based on an estimated 100% uptake by eligible drivers. Local authorities directly approached all private hire and taxi drivers to invite them to claim the £1,500 grant, and a range of sector st…
1 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect young unvaccinated people and those who cannot have the vaccine due to health or age reasons from the risks of COVID-19 and Long-COVID, in light of confirmed cases of COVID-19 reaching 4,234 on 1 July 2021.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Guidance in developing guidance as the vaccination programme makes progress towards increasing levels of COVID-19 immunity in the population. Current JCVI advice remain…
1 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific initiatives in the marketing and communications strategy for the COVID-19 vaccination programme were aimed at reaching those in the age 40-50 age bracket who were hesitant about the reported side affects of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccination.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government in terms of its marketing and communication planning, utilises a number of communication channels, to reach those that are hesitant under the generic campaign, Roll Up Our Sleeves, targeting 18-49 year olds.
1 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals in the 40-50 age bracket did not receive their COVID-19 vaccination for the reason that they were not offered an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine while attending at a vaccination centre, broken down by NHS board,
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.
1 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the publication of a draft international ecocide law and whether it plans to take action to incorporate the crime of ecocide into law.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government notes the recent calls for the International Criminal Court to recognise the destruction of nature, “ecocide”, as an international crime. We are committed to maintaining high environmental standards and have put in place arrangements …
29 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of its civil contingency plans and preparedness for any potential future pandemic.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is committed to improving planning and preparedness for any potential future pandemic. We set out within our first one hundred days to establish a standing committee on pandemics, bringing together scientists and clinicians to advise …
29 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any discussions in regard to homeless people in Scotland being provided with e-cigarette starter packs for a research project led by London South Bank University and UCL, and what its view is of this project.
Answer · Maree Todd: There have been no discussions with the Scottish Government in regard to homeless people in Scotland being provided with e-cigarette starter packs for a research project led by London South Bank University and UCL. We maintain an open, yet precautionary, app…
29 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people living in (a) Falkirk, (b) North Lanarkshire and (c) South Lanarkshire have been (i) identified and (ii) contacted through the NHS Scotland Protect Scotland app, in each month since its launch.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The information requested regarding the number people who have been identified and contacted through the NHS Scotland Protect Scotland app at a local authority level is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
29 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it accepts the 12 recommendations made in the HMICS report, Assurance review of Police Scotland demand analysis and management, and what action it plans to take to make planning improvements ahead of COP26.
Answer · Keith Brown: The HMICS Assurance review of Police Scotland demand analysis and management offers a positive outlook on Police Scotland’s efforts to develop its understanding of demand put on its resources. Its recommendations are for the Scottish Police Authority and Poli…
29 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have contracted COVID-19 while attending (a) University Hospital Wishaw, (b) University Hospital Monklands, (c) University Hospital Hairmyres and (d) Forth Valley Royal Hospital.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The information requested regarding the number patients who have contracted COVID-19 while attending hospital is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. However, on 14 July 2021 the Public Health Scotland weekly report titled “Hospital onset COVID-19 …
25 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce legally binding targets for nature recovery.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government is committed to action to protect and restore our biodiversity and to the effective monitoring of progress towards this goal. The Scottish Government has recently added a new single high level indicator to the National Performance Fram…
24 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to extending the NHS bursary to all students in the allied health professions.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00813 on 14 July 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees…
24 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the actions (a) noted and (b) recommended in The Promise, Scotland’s first change programme, which supports the delivery of the Promise Plan 2021-2024.
Answer · John Swinney: We welcome the publication of The Change Programme, which sets out what needs to happen over the next year to ensure Scotland keeps its Promise to improve the lives of children and young people in or on the edges of care. I wrote an open letter to Fiona Dunc…
23 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government and devolved nations on harmonisation of COVID-19 guidance on international travel.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Where possible the policy decisions are taken on a four nations basis – guidance is developed as a result of those policy decisions, with officials discussing with the UK Government when necessary. This includes working with the UK government for guidance as …
23 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a ban on sending wind turbine blades to landfill.
Answer · Michael Matheson: We are committed to building a more circular economy as a vital part of our journey to net-zero, and continue to work with industry, businesses and other organisations to design products to last as long as possible while encouraging reuse, repair and recyclin…
23 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many heat-related deaths have been recorded in each of the last 10 years and, in light of the impact of climate change, what (a) action it is taking to heat-proof (i) residential properties and (ii) care homes and (b) resources are available to protect homeless people from heat-rel…
Answer · Shona Robison: Data from National Records of Scotland show that over the ten year period 2010 to 2019 inclusive there were three instances of death certificate records (one each in 2016, 2018 and 2019) that mention either exposure to natural heat or the effects of heat and …
22 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Cairngorms National Park Authority reporting a possible decline of a third of the population of capercaillie.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The reports of a possible decline in the capercaillie population are concerning and underline the need to continue to focus efforts on partnership work to tackle threats to the species. We recognise the central importance of biodiversity and our commitment to…
21 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made any assessment of the potential impact of (a) the COVID-19 pandemic and (b) COVID-19 vaccines on (i) menstrual cycles and (ii) menstrual health, and whether it will make advice and information on those matters available to the public.
Answer · Maree Todd: a) Assessment of the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; The Scottish Government continues to monitor evidence on the Four Harms of COVID-19. These are the direct impact of COVID-19, other health impacts, societal impacts, and economic impacts. We are…
18 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to SEPA issuing a "very poor" draft assessment of the Ineos Kinneil terminal for 2019, due to significant non-compliance and the requirement for urgent improvement, and what discussion it has had with (a) SEPA and (b) Ineos about (i) the assessment, and (ii) flaring …
Answer · Mairi McAllan: SEPA has not yet published information on its Compliance Assessment Scheme results for 2019 and expect to publish the results later this year. As such, no discussions have been held with SEPA or Ineos in relation to the assessment. The draft result for Ineos…
18 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that women who are pregnant following the death of a baby are able to access promptly the continuity of carer model as it rolls out in their local midwifery service.
Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00570 on 21 June 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written…
18 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date all low-emission zones will be established in cities.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The 2017 Programme for Government initially committed to introducing Low Emission Zones (LEZs) into Scotland’s four biggest cities (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen) between 2018 and 2020. Scotland’s first LEZ (with an initial focus on buses) was launc…
18 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to compensate the tourism industry as a result of ferry disruption.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Scottish Ministers fully recognise the importance of reliable ferry services to the economic, social and cultural development of island and remote mainland communities. The recent breakdown of the MV Loch Seaforth, and the impacts felt across the network, ca…
18 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many trees it expects to be planted by the end of the current parliamentary session to help tackle climate change, and whether it plans to accelerate this work.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government expects 81,000 hectares of new woodland to be created over the lifetime of the Parliament; that’s well over 150 million new trees, making a critical contribution to our ambitions to become a net-zero nation. We are accelerating woodla…
18 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Historic Environment Scotland regarding protecting historic buildings from the effects of climate change.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government engages closely with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) on an ongoing basis on its work to develop and deliver protect historic buildings from the effects of climate change. HES’s Corporate Plan is agreed with Ministers and includes …
18 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to change the law to raise the minimum legal marriage age to 18.
Answer · Ash Denham: The Scottish Government is aware that issues are being raised on the minimum age to enter a marriage or civil partnership and that a Private Member’s Bill has been lodged at Westminster to increase the minimum age in England and Wales: Marriage and Civil Par…
17 Jun 2021 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it plans to consult with (a) staff and (b) trade unions on the potential introduction of a four-day working week (32 hours), at no loss of pay, for Parliament staff.
Answer · Jackson Carlaw (On behalf of the SPCB): There are no plans at present to consult with SPS staff about the potential introduction of a four-day working week (32 hours), at no loss of pay. However, parliamentary officials have held informal discussions with the trade unions about the 2021/22 pay awa…
17 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the use of single-use plastic in medical settings.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: NHS Scotland National Procurement works with NHS Boards to assess and evaluate all supply requirements, this includes an assessment of product substitution and material choice. Where replacement of a single use item is practical and meets infection control an…